House Beautiful Details (Great Style Series) - Hardcover

Clark, Sally; Gropp, Louis Oliver; Kennedy, Margaret

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688125883 ISBN 13: 9780688125882

Publisher: Hearst Books, 1899

Synopsis

Informatively discusses the art of perfectly accessorizing the home, from empty floor space through ceiling fixtures, and also gives many other helpful suggestions that are brought to life through rich photographs of several homes throughout the country.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Even the most talented designer will admit that arranging accessories successfully is a process of trial and error; it may take several tries with various objects before a grouping really works.

Helping navigate the editing process are five esthetic guidelines: color, shape, scale, texture, and finish. Using them as reference points, a designer begins by looking for similarities as well as contrasts among objects. Two pieces with different bold shapes -- one curved, one angular -- may set up an exciting contrast. Or the repetition of the same shape, as in a collection of plates on a wall, may achieve the desired effect. In a room where ceilings soar and the furniture is imposing, details should be appropriately overscale. Disparate objects drawn from different periods, places, and pedigrees can mesh successfully when all share similar colors, finishes, and textures. This is a useful trick when operating on a tight budget: One or two precious items can be augmented with finds from thrift shops and flea markets that are in some ways similar.

But sometimes only an adventurous approach will do. In an arrangement of boxes, for example, a striking visual statement might be created by grouping unlike surfaces and colors together -- a dark, polished mahogany tea caddy and a carved walnut case with a worn, dull finish can be surprisingly and successfully teamed with a pair of red lacquered oriental boxes.

Copyright (c) 1996 by The Hearst Corporation

About this edition

• Publisher: Hearst Books
• Publication date: 1899
• ISBN 10: 0688125883
• ISBN 13: 9780688125882
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 141
• Editor: Gropp Louis Oliver, Kennedy Margaret